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Posts Tagged ‘Washington’

[Travel] 21-course Tasting Menu at The Willows Inn Restaurant, Lummi Island

Posted in Dinner, Eat Local, Fine dining, Great Views, Hotel Dining, Joyce, Restaurants, Seafood, Special Occasion, Travel, U.S., Washington, West Coast, tagged , , , , , , , on August 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Mr. and I recently went on a 10-day road trip to the States. Kicking it off was a celebration of our 4th wedding anniversary and we spent a night at the quaint Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Washington. Lummi Island is a small island just a 10-minute ferry ride southwest of Bellingham.

The upscale inn deserves a separate post but the highlight of the evening was definitely our dinner at the restaurant. It serves up a 21-course tasting menu every evening, yes 21 courses, that changes regularly and seasonally. It features locally grown produce and other locally fished, foraged and farmed products. And in addition to their kitchen, they also have an outdoor wood-fired BBQ and smoker.

Obviously, with 21 courses this is not your everyday dinner out. The menu costs $225 per person with optional wine pairing for an additional $150 per person. You also don’t know what’s on the menu as they rotate it often. You only receive a copy of the menu at the end of your meal. So you ask, was it worth it?

Without further ado, let us indulge you with a feast for your eyes.

Food

Toasted kale leave, local black truffle, crumbled rye on top — elevated kale chip with the fragrance of truffle and extra crunch from the rye crumble

Wild rainier cherry in nasturtium leaf, wild chamomile, elderflower essence — what an interesting bite. Enjoyed the crisp sweetness of rainier cherry against the herbaceous chamomile and nasturtium. The elderflower essence was made into a little dollop of jelly that combined everything.

Sugar snap peas from their garden, pureed and combined with cream then it’s piped back in the pod — It’s like crudites in a fancy bite. You can taste the freshness of the sugar snap peas. (more…)

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[Travel] Self-Guided Walking Tour of Seattle’s Ballard Brewery District

Posted in Beer, Brewery, Craft Beer Series, Drinks, Joyce, Restaurants, Seattle, Travel, U.S., Washington, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2018| 1 Comment »

Mr. and I had a few days off in April, so we decided to head down to Seattle for a quick getaway. It’s been a couple of years now since we last headed south of the border thanks to the weak Canadian Dollar.

Instead of hanging out in the downtown area, we chose to stay in the Ballard district, which is known for its ever growing share of breweries. Where we stayed was within walking distance to a cluster of craft breweries, so we did a self-guided brewery tour.

And that means we just hit the street and started walking towards the first stop from our temporary home. When I was looking up the breweries, Lucky Envelope caught my eyes because its logo is the red envelope 利是 we hand out during Chinese New Year and to no surprise, looks like it’s Asian owned. LE it is.

Stop #1 – Lucky Envelope

Seattle Ballard Brewery Stop 1 - Lucky Envelope

Lucky Envelope Brewing

Lucky for us, it was the release day of their sours. And we are big sour fans!! There were 6 on the menu, so we opted for the lighter ones (it’s only our first stop!) plus a couple of other brews:

  • Raspberry Sour
  • Mango Sour
  • Lychee Sour
  • Blackberry Shake Sour
  • Beardless Brewer Red Ale
  • Error 404: El Dorado Haze IPA

Lucky Envelope Brewing

Mr.‘s favourite was the Lychee Sour. (more…)

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[Travel] A Walk Through the Lights of Christmas – Largest Display in Pacific Northwest

Posted in Christmas Series, Family-friendly, Joyce, Special Occasion, Travel, U.S., Washington, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 3, 2017| 1 Comment »

During the Christmas Break, Mr. and I went to the States to check out some holiday light displays. We drove through various neighbourhoods in the Seattle area and were amazed by how the houses came together to put on some fabulous displays.

The highlight of our trip was visiting the Lights of Christmas in Stanwood, at the Warm Beach Camp. With more than one million Christmas lights spread over 15 acres, this is known to be the largest holiday light display in the Pacific Northwest. I’m always fascinated by lights, the more the merrier, so I wasn’t going to miss it.

The Lights of Christmas

And it didn’t disappoint. There were 6 themed areas, each with its own unique lights. Some of my favourites include the light tunnels, a light maze (although not as elaborate as what Enchant offered here in Vancouver), the Fireball Tree (that looks like fireworks itself), the Cascade mountains, Christmas Tree Island, the angels, the snow-capped mountain, and the waterfall.

The Lights of Christmas

The Lights of Christmas (more…)

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Coconut Kenny’s: I can still hear the coconuts knocking together

Posted in Casual, Dinner, Mr., U.S., tagged , , , , , , , on September 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Pizza, the bread and butter of the 20-something age group, is a simple yet magical food. Everything from the sticky cheese to the crispy (as it should be) crust spells deliciousness.

Picture this, a big slice of pie being lifted away from its friends, hot steam pouring out from the edges, strings of mozzarella cheese tugging at the crust, refusing to let go. Next, the scent of tomato sauce and toasted meat slams into your nostrils…

You are drooling now aren’t you?

It’s pretty amazing that for something so easy to make, so many people screw it up so badly. There’s something to be said about finding a decent pizzeria. And I think I’ve just added another one to the good list.

Overview

It was 7:30 on a Friday night, in the dead still downtown of Bellingham, WA, I was driving around looking for a place to fill my empty tummy. For blocks on end it was completely dark and void of life. All of a sudden I see cars parked on the street, some light, and noises that sounded like happy people taking a mouthful of delicious food (might have imagined the last part).

Inside

I pulled over and went in for a look. It’s decorated like a grass hut inside and out. It’s a Hawaiian theme. The restaurant is casual — you order at the counter and sit yourself anywhere you’d like, just like a little hut on the coast of Hawaii. The crowd is pretty young, mostly early to mid-twenties type. It looks like a college hang out.

The menu is pretty short, everything fits on one page. All the pizzas are deep dish, and come in either 6’’ or 12’’ pans. Sandwiches are equally simple — you can go for either a full or half sized piece.

There is also some other stuff appropriately listed under “other stuff”, such as various types of balls, wings, nachos and sides. I didn’t order any so I can’t tell you much about them.

What went in

We ordered a small ‘Da’ Big Kahuna and a small Waikiki, as well as a full-sized Bar-B-Que Killer Pork. (more…)

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The Red Lobster Experiment (Lynnwood, WA)

Posted in Group Lunch, Joyce, Lunch, Mr., Seafood, Special Occasion, U.S., tagged , , , , , , , on May 10, 2011| 1 Comment »

America, the land of the plentiful and home of the obese. A country where the only thing bigger than their stomachs are the size of their portions.

This is a manly man’s playground.

Enter the Red Lobster.

Overview

The four of us went down to the States to spend a day with my guy crush, Chris, to celebrate his birthday. He has always expressed an undying love for shrimp. So we thought Red Lobster would be a fun place to go eat.

I have fond memories of Red Lobster from 2 summers ago, when they had the unlimited shrimp promotion going. I had plates after plates of shrimp, deep fried, grilled and boiled. This time around, the Lobster Fest was on.

What went in

The two of us shared a Lobster “Pizza”, Coconut Shrimp, and the Bar Harbour Lobster and Shrimp Trio.

Lobster Pizza

The lobster pizza isn’t really a pizza at all. It’s pizza toppings placed on a crepe, which actually tastes much better than it sounds. It’s topped with fresh tomatoes, basil, a light layer of mozzarella cheese, and chunks of lobster. Being that it’s a crepe, it takes thin-crust to a whole new level. What makes it work well is the fact that it has no sauce. It reminds me of an open-faced quesadilla. (more…)

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